February was a very hectic month for everyone at MAN 1 Payakumbuh, and was capped off by the local WORDS storytelling competition. ETA Nicholas Navin and sitemates Danny, Jillian, and Ammarah had a whirlwind two days of visiting each other’s schools to watch and judge each of the wonderful participants for all of the local competitions. But of course, the highlight for Nicholas was watching each one of his students present the stories that they had been hard at work on for the past month.

For weeks there were many long afternoons spent at school writing, drawing, goofing off, brainstorming, and preparing to present. Even with their busy lives, schooling, and homework, Nicholas’ students still showed their dedication and commitment by investing so much time and effort into their stories.

And despite the nerves preceding the competition, on the day of, every student who participated never gave up, and showed off their talent and hard work in truly wonderful performances. Nicholas could not have been more proud to see all of the courage and bravery that his students had in presenting their stories, and is very thankful to have such phenomenal students to teach, work with, and get to know while in Indonesia.

Nicholas Navin is currently teaching at MAN 1 Payakumbuh, West Sumatra.